1Then all the people of Israel came out, from Dan to Beersheba, including the land of Gilead, and the congregation assembled as one man to the Lord at Mizpah. (Jos 22:12; Jud 21:5; 1Sa 3:20; 1Sa 7:5; 1Sa 10:17; 1Sa 11:7; 2Sa 3:10; 2Sa 24:2)2And the chiefs of all the people, of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, 400,000 men on foot that drew the sword. (Jud 8:10; Jud 20:15; Jud 20:17; Jud 20:25; Jud 20:35; Jud 20:46; 1Sa 14:38)3(Now the people of Benjamin heard that the people of Israel had gone up to Mizpah.) And the people of Israel said, “Tell us, how did this evil happen?”4And the Levite, the husband of the woman who was murdered, answered and said, “I came to Gibeah that belongs to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to spend the night. (Jud 19:15)5And the leaders of Gibeah rose against me and surrounded the house against me by night. They meant to kill me, and they violated my concubine, and she is dead. (Jud 19:22; Jud 19:25)6So I took hold of my concubine and cut her in pieces and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel, for they have committed abomination and outrage in Israel. (Jud 19:23; Jud 19:29)7Behold, you people of Israel, all of you, give your advice and counsel here.” (Jud 19:30)8And all the people arose as one man, saying, “None of us will go to his tent, and none of us will return to his house.9But now this is what we will do to Gibeah: we will go up against it by lot,10and we will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand of ten thousand, to bring provisions for the people, that when they come they may repay Gibeah of Benjamin for all the outrage that they have committed in Israel.”11So all the men of Israel gathered against the city, united as one man.12And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What evil is this that has taken place among you? (De 13:14; Jos 22:13; Jos 22:16)13Now therefore give up the men, the worthless fellows in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and purge evil from Israel.” But the Benjaminites would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the people of Israel. (De 13:5; De 13:13; De 17:2; Jud 19:22)14Then the people of Benjamin came together out of the cities to Gibeah to go out to battle against the people of Israel.15And the people of Benjamin mustered out of their cities on that day 26,000 men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who mustered 700 chosen men. (Nu 1:37; Nu 26:41; Jud 20:2)16Among all these were 700 chosen men who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss. (Jud 3:15; 1Ch 12:2)17And the men of Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered 400,000 men who drew the sword; all these were men of war. (Jud 20:15)18The people of Israel arose and went up to Bethel and inquired of God, “Who shall go up first for us to fight against the people of Benjamin?” And the Lord said, “Judah shall go up first.” (Jud 1:1; Jud 20:26; Jud 20:31)19Then the people of Israel rose in the morning and encamped against Gibeah.20And the men of Israel went out to fight against Benjamin, and the men of Israel drew up the battle line against them at Gibeah.21The people of Benjamin came out of Gibeah and destroyed on that day 22,000 men of the Israelites. (Jud 20:25)22But the people, the men of Israel, took courage, and again formed the battle line in the same place where they had formed it on the first day.23And the people of Israel went up and wept before the Lord until the evening. And they inquired of the Lord, “Shall we again draw near to fight against our brothers, the people of Benjamin?” And the Lord said, “Go up against them.” (Jud 20:26)24So the people of Israel came near against the people of Benjamin the second day.25And Benjamin went against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed 18,000 men of the people of Israel. All these were men who drew the sword. (Jud 20:2; Jud 20:21)26Then all the people of Israel, the whole army, went up and came to Bethel and wept. They sat there before the Lord and fasted that day until evening, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the Lord. (Jud 20:18; Jud 20:31)27And the people of Israel inquired of the Lord (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days, (Jos 18:1; 1Sa 4:3)28and Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, ministered before it in those days), saying, “Shall we go out once more to battle against our brothers, the people of Benjamin, or shall we cease?” And the Lord said, “Go up, for tomorrow I will give them into your hand.” (Nu 25:7; Nu 31:6; De 10:8; De 18:5; De 18:7; Jos 24:33)29So Israel set men in ambush around Gibeah. (Jos 8:4)30And the people of Israel went up against the people of Benjamin on the third day and set themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times.31And the people of Benjamin went out against the people and were drawn away from the city. And as at other times they began to strike and kill some of the people in the highways, one of which goes up to Bethel and the other to Gibeah, and in the open country, about thirty men of Israel. (Jud 20:18; Jud 20:26; Jud 21:19)32And the people of Benjamin said, “They are routed before us, as at the first.” But the people of Israel said, “Let us flee and draw them away from the city to the highways.” (Jos 8:5)33And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place and set themselves in array at Baal-tamar, and the men of Israel who were in ambush rushed out of their place from Maareh-geba.[1]34And there came against Gibeah 10,000 chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was hard, but the Benjaminites did not know that disaster was close upon them. (Jud 20:41)35And the Lord defeated Benjamin before Israel, and the people of Israel destroyed 25,100 men of Benjamin that day. All these were men who drew the sword. (Jud 20:2)36So the people of Benjamin saw that they were defeated. The men of Israel gave ground to Benjamin, because they trusted the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah.37Then the men in ambush hurried and rushed against Gibeah; the men in ambush moved out and struck all the city with the edge of the sword. (Jos 8:19)38Now the appointed signal between the men of Israel and the men in the main ambush was that when they made a great cloud of smoke rise up out of the city39the men of Israel should turn in battle. Now Benjamin had begun to strike and kill about thirty men of Israel. They said, “Surely they are defeated before us, as in the first battle.” (Jud 20:31)40But when the signal began to rise out of the city in a column of smoke, the Benjaminites looked behind them, and behold, the whole of the city went up in smoke to heaven. (Jos 8:20)41Then the men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were dismayed, for they saw that disaster was close upon them. (Jud 20:34)42Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel in the direction of the wilderness, but the battle overtook them. And those who came out of the cities were destroying them in their midst. (Jos 8:15; Jos 8:24)43Surrounding the Benjaminites, they pursued them and trod them down from Nohah[2] as far as opposite Gibeah on the east.44Eighteen thousand men of Benjamin fell, all of them men of valor.45And they turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon. Five thousand men of them were cut down in the highways. And they were pursued hard to Gidom, and 2,000 men of them were struck down. (Jos 15:32; Jud 20:42; Jud 21:13)46So all who fell that day of Benjamin were 25,000 men who drew the sword, all of them men of valor.47But 600 men turned and fled toward the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon and remained at the rock of Rimmon four months. (Jud 20:42; Jud 20:45)48And the men of Israel turned back against the people of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword, the city, men and beasts and all that they found. And all the towns that they found they set on fire.
1Then all Israel from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came together as one and assembled before the Lord in Mizpah.2The leaders of all the people of the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of God’s people, four hundred thousand men armed with swords.3(The Benjaminites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah.) Then the Israelites said, ‘Tell us how this awful thing happened.’4So the Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, said, ‘I and my concubine came to Gibeah in Benjamin to spend the night.5During the night the men of Gibeah came after me and surrounded the house, intending to kill me. They raped my concubine, and she died.6I took my concubine, cut her into pieces and sent one piece to each region of Israel’s inheritance, because they committed this lewd and outrageous act in Israel.7Now, all you Israelites, speak up and tell me what you have decided to do.’8All the men rose up together as one, saying, ‘None of us will go home. No, not one of us will return to his house.9But now this is what we’ll do to Gibeah: we’ll go up against it in the order decided by casting lots.10We’ll take ten men out of every hundred from all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred from a thousand, and a thousand from ten thousand, to get provisions for the army. Then, when the army arrives at Gibeah[1] in Benjamin, it can give them what they deserve for this outrageous act done in Israel.’11So all the Israelites got together and united as one against the city.12The tribes of Israel sent messengers throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying, ‘What about this awful crime that was committed among you?13Now turn those wicked men of Gibeah over to us so that we may put them to death and purge the evil from Israel.’ But the Benjaminites would not listen to their fellow Israelites.14From their towns they came together at Gibeah to fight against the Israelites.15At once the Benjaminites mobilised twenty-six thousand swordsmen from their towns, in addition to seven hundred able young men from those living in Gibeah.16Among all these soldiers there were seven hundred select troops who were left-handed, each of whom could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.17Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered four hundred thousand swordsmen, all of them fit for battle.18The Israelites went up to Bethel[2] and enquired of God. They said, ‘Who of us is to go up first to fight against the Benjaminites?’ The Lord replied, ‘Judah shall go first.’19The next morning the Israelites got up and pitched camp near Gibeah.20The Israelites went out to fight the Benjaminites and took up battle positions against them at Gibeah.21The Benjaminites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelites on the battlefield that day.22But the Israelites encouraged one another and again took up their positions where they had stationed themselves the first day.23The Israelites went up and wept before the Lord until evening, and they enquired of the Lord. They said, ‘Shall we go up again to fight against the Benjaminites, our fellow Israelites?’ The Lord answered, ‘Go up against them.’24Then the Israelites drew near to Benjamin the second day.25This time, when the Benjaminites came out from Gibeah to oppose them, they cut down another eighteen thousand Israelites, all of them armed with swords.26Then all the Israelites, the whole army, went up to Bethel, and there they sat weeping before the Lord. They fasted that day until evening and presented burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to the Lord.27And the Israelites enquired of the Lord. (In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there,28with Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, ministering before it.) They asked, ‘Shall we go up again to fight against the Benjaminites, our fellow Israelites, or not?’ The Lord responded, ‘Go, for tomorrow I will give them into your hands.’29Then Israel set an ambush around Gibeah.30They went up against the Benjaminites on the third day and took up positions against Gibeah as they had done before.31The Benjaminites came out to meet them and were drawn away from the city. They began to inflict casualties on the Israelites as before, so that about thirty men fell in the open field and on the roads – the one leading to Bethel and the other to Gibeah.32While the Benjaminites were saying, ‘We are defeating them as before,’ the Israelites were saying, ‘Let’s retreat and draw them away from the city to the roads.’33All the men of Israel moved from their places and took up positions at Baal Tamar, and the Israelite ambush charged out of its place on the west[3] of Gibeah.[4]34Then ten thousand of Israel’s able young men made a frontal attack on Gibeah. The fighting was so heavy that the Benjaminites did not realise how near disaster was.35The Lord defeated Benjamin before Israel, and on that day the Israelites struck down 25,100 Benjaminites, all armed with swords.36Then the Benjaminites saw that they were beaten. Now the men of Israel had given way before Benjamin, because they relied on the ambush they had set near Gibeah.37Those who had been in ambush made a sudden dash into Gibeah, spread out and put the whole city to the sword.38The Israelites had arranged with the ambush that they should send up a great cloud of smoke from the city,39and then the Israelites would counterattack. The Benjaminites had begun to inflict casualties on the Israelites (about thirty), and they said, ‘We are defeating them as in the first battle.’40But when the column of smoke began to rise from the city, the Benjaminites turned and saw the whole city going up in smoke.41Then the Israelites counterattacked, and the Benjaminites were terrified, because they realised that disaster had come on them.42So they fled before the Israelites in the direction of the wilderness, but they could not escape the battle. And the Israelites who came out of the towns cut them down there.43They surrounded the Benjaminites, chased them and easily[5] overran them in the vicinity of Gibeah on the east.44Eighteen thousand Benjaminites fell, all of them valiant fighters.45As they turned and fled towards the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, the Israelites cut down five thousand men along the roads. They kept pressing after the Benjaminites as far as Gidom and struck down two thousand more.46On that day twenty-five thousand Benjaminite swordsmen fell, all of them valiant fighters.47But six hundred of them turned and fled into the wilderness to the rock of Rimmon, where they stayed for four months.48The men of Israel went back to Benjamin and put all the towns to the sword, including the animals and everything else they found. All the towns they came across they set on fire.
Judges 20
King James Version
1Then all the children of Israel went out, and the congregation was gathered together as one man, from Dan even to Beersheba, with the land of Gilead, unto the LORD in Mizpeh.2And the chief of all the people, even of all the tribes of Israel, presented themselves in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand footmen that drew sword.3(Now the children of Benjamin heard that the children of Israel were gone up to Mizpeh.) Then said the children of Israel, Tell us , how was this wickedness?4And the Levite, the husband of the woman that was slain, answered and said, I came into Gibeah that belongeth to Benjamin, I and my concubine, to lodge.5And the men of Gibeah rose against me, and beset the house round about upon me by night, and thought to have slain me: and my concubine have they forced, that she is dead.6And I took my concubine, and cut her in pieces, and sent her throughout all the country of the inheritance of Israel: for they have committed lewdness and folly in Israel.7Behold, ye are all children of Israel; give here your advice and counsel.8And all the people arose as one man, saying, We will not any of us go to his tent, neither will we any of us turn into his house.9But now this shall be the thing which we will do to Gibeah; we will go up by lot against it;10And we will take ten men of an hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and an hundred of a thousand, and a thousand out of ten thousand, to fetch victual for the people, that they may do, when they come to Gibeah of Benjamin, according to all the folly that they have wrought in Israel.11So all the men of Israel were gathered against the city, knit together as one man.12And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, What wickedness is this that is done among you?13Now therefore deliver us the men, the children of Belial, which are in Gibeah, that we may put them to death, and put away evil from Israel. But the children of Benjamin would not hearken to the voice of their brethren the children of Israel:14But the children of Benjamin gathered themselves together out of the cities unto Gibeah, to go out to battle against the children of Israel.15And the children of Benjamin were numbered at that time out of the cities twenty and six thousand men that drew sword, beside the inhabitants of Gibeah, which were numbered seven hundred chosen men.16Among all this people there were seven hundred chosen men lefthanded; every one could sling stones at an hair breadth , and not miss.17And the men of Israel, beside Benjamin, were numbered four hundred thousand men that drew sword: all these were men of war.18And the children of Israel arose, and went up to the house of God, and asked counsel of God, and said, Which of us shall go up first to the battle against the children of Benjamin? And the LORD said, Judah shall go up first.19And the children of Israel rose up in the morning, and encamped against Gibeah.20And the men of Israel went out to battle against Benjamin; and the men of Israel put themselves in array to fight against them at Gibeah.21And the children of Benjamin came forth out of Gibeah, and destroyed down to the ground of the Israelites that day twenty and two thousand men.22And the people the men of Israel encouraged themselves, and set their battle again in array in the place where they put themselves in array the first day.23(And the children of Israel went up and wept before the LORD until even, and asked counsel of the LORD, saying, Shall I go up again to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother? And the LORD said, Go up against him.)24And the children of Israel came near against the children of Benjamin the second day.25And Benjamin went forth against them out of Gibeah the second day, and destroyed down to the ground of the children of Israel again eighteen thousand men; all these drew the sword.26Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of God, and wept, and sat there before the LORD, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD.27And the children of Israel enquired of the LORD, (for the ark of the covenant of God was there in those days,28And Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, stood before it in those days,) saying, Shall I yet again go out to battle against the children of Benjamin my brother, or shall I cease? And the LORD said, Go up; for to morrow I will deliver them into thine hand.29And Israel set liers in wait round about Gibeah.30And the children of Israel went up against the children of Benjamin on the third day, and put themselves in array against Gibeah, as at other times.31And the children of Benjamin went out against the people, and were drawn away from the city; and they began to smite of the people, and kill, as at other times, in the highways, of which one goeth up to the house of God, and the other to Gibeah in the field, about thirty men of Israel.32And the children of Benjamin said, They are smitten down before us, as at the first. But the children of Israel said, Let us flee, and draw them from the city unto the highways.33And all the men of Israel rose up out of their place, and put themselves in array at Baaltamar: and the liers in wait of Israel came forth out of their places, even out of the meadows of Gibeah.34And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore: but they knew not that evil was near them.35And the LORD smote Benjamin before Israel: and the children of Israel destroyed of the Benjamites that day twenty and five thousand and an hundred men: all these drew the sword.36So the children of Benjamin saw that they were smitten: for the men of Israel gave place to the Benjamites, because they trusted unto the liers in wait which they had set beside Gibeah.37And the liers in wait hasted, and rushed upon Gibeah; and the liers in wait drew themselves along, and smote all the city with the edge of the sword.38Now there was an appointed sign between the men of Israel and the liers in wait, that they should make a great flame with smoke rise up out of the city.39And when the men of Israel retired in the battle, Benjamin began to smite and kill of the men of Israel about thirty persons: for they said, Surely they are smitten down before us, as in the first battle.40But when the flame began to arise up out of the city with a pillar of smoke, the Benjamites looked behind them, and, behold, the flame of the city ascended up to heaven.41And when the men of Israel turned again, the men of Benjamin were amazed: for they saw that evil was come upon them.42Therefore they turned their backs before the men of Israel unto the way of the wilderness; but the battle overtook them; and them which came out of the cities they destroyed in the midst of them.43Thus they inclosed the Benjamites round about, and chased them, and trode them down with ease over against Gibeah toward the sunrising.44And there fell of Benjamin eighteen thousand men; all these were men of valour.45And they turned and fled toward the wilderness unto the rock of Rimmon: and they gleaned of them in the highways five thousand men; and pursued hard after them unto Gidom, and slew two thousand men of them.46So that all which fell that day of Benjamin were twenty and five thousand men that drew the sword; all these were men of valour.47But six hundred men turned and fled to the wilderness unto the rock Rimmon, and abode in the rock Rimmon four months.48And the men of Israel turned again upon the children of Benjamin, and smote them with the edge of the sword, as well the men of every city, as the beast, and all that came to hand: also they set on fire all the cities that they came to.
1Then all the Israelites came out. They came from the whole land between Dan and Beersheba. They also came from the land of Gilead. All of them gathered together in front of the LORD at Mizpah.2The leaders of all the tribes of Israel came. They took their places among the people of God gathered together. There were 400,000 men carrying swords.3The tribe of Benjamin heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah. The Israelites said, ‘Tell us how this awful thing happened.’4So the Levite spoke. He was the husband of the woman who had been murdered. He said, ‘I and my concubine went to Gibeah in Benjamin. We spent the night there.5During the night the men of Gibeah came after me. They surrounded the house. They were planning to kill me. They raped my concubine, and she died.6I took my concubine and cut her into pieces. I sent one piece to each part of Israel’s territory. I did it because the men of Gibeah had done a very terrible thing in Israel.7All you men of Israel, speak up now. Tell me what you have decided to do.’8All the men got up together. They said, ‘None of us will go home. Not one of us will return to his house.9Here is what we’ll do to Gibeah. We’ll cast lots to tell us how to attack the city.10We’ll take ten men out of every 100 from all the tribes of Israel. We’ll take 100 from every 1,000. We’ll take 1,000 from every 10,000. The men we take will get supplies for the army. Then the army will go to Gibeah in Benjamin. They’ll give Gibeah exactly what they should get because of the terrible thing they did in Israel.’11So all the men of Israel came together to fight against the city.12The tribes of Israel sent people to carry a message through the whole tribe of Benjamin. They said, ‘What about this awful crime that was committed among you?13Hand over to us those evil men of Gibeah. We’ll put them to death. In that way we’ll get rid of those evil people.’ But the people of Benjamin wouldn’t listen to the other Israelites.14They came together at Gibeah from their towns. They came to fight against the other Israelites.15Right away the people of Benjamin gathered together 26,000 men from their towns. They were carrying swords. These men were added to the 700 capable young men from Gibeah.16Among all these men there were 700 who were left-handed. Each of them could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.17Israel gathered 400,000 men together. They were carrying swords. All of them were trained for battle. That number didn’t include the tribe of Benjamin.18The Israelites went up to Bethel. There they asked God, ‘Who should go up first and fight against the people of Benjamin?’ The LORD answered, ‘The tribe of Judah will go first.’19The next morning the Israelites got up. They set up camp near Gibeah.20The Israelites went out to fight against the men of Benjamin. They took up their battle positions against them at Gibeah.21The men of Benjamin came out of Gibeah. They killed 22,000 Israelites on the field of battle that day.22But the Israelites cheered one another on. They again took up their positions in the places where they had been the first day.23The Israelites went and wept in front of the LORD until evening. They asked the LORD, ‘Should we go up again to fight against the men of Benjamin? They are our fellow Israelites.’ The LORD answered, ‘Go up and fight against them.’24The Israelites came near the men of Benjamin on the second day.25The men of Benjamin came out from Gibeah to oppose them. That time they killed 18,000 more Israelites. All the men who died had been carrying swords.26Then all the Israelites, the whole army, went up to Bethel. They sat there and wept in front of the LORD. They didn’t eat anything that day until evening. Then they brought burnt offerings and friendship offerings to the LORD.27Again the Israelites spoke to the LORD. In those days the ark of the covenant of God was there.28Phinehas was serving as priest at the ark. He was the son of Eleazar. Eleazar was the son of Aaron. The Israelites asked, ‘Should we go up again to fight against the men of Benjamin? They are our fellow Israelites.’ The LORD answered, ‘Go. Tomorrow I will hand them over to you.’29Then Israel hid some men and had them wait all around Gibeah.30They went up to fight against the men of Benjamin on the third day. They took up their positions against Gibeah, just as they had done before.31The men of Benjamin came out to fight against them. They were drawn away from the city. They began to wound and kill the Israelites just as they had done before. About 30 men fell in battle. They fell in the open fields and on the roads. One of the roads led to Bethel. The other led to Gibeah.32The men of Benjamin said, ‘We’re winning the battle over them, just as we did before.’ But the men of Israel said, ‘Let’s pull back. Let’s draw them away from the city to the roads.’33All the men of Israel moved away from their places. They took up new battle positions at Baal Tamar. The men who had been hiding charged out. They came from west of Gibeah.34Then 10,000 of Israel’s capable young men attacked Gibeah. The men of Benjamin didn’t realise they were about to be destroyed. The fighting was very heavy.35The LORD helped Israel win the battle over Benjamin. On that day the Israelites struck down 25,100 men of Benjamin. All the men who died had been carrying swords.36Then the men of Benjamin saw that they had lost the battle. The men of Israel had moved away from their positions in front of Benjamin. They had depended on the men they had hidden near Gibeah.37Suddenly those men who had been hiding rushed into Gibeah. They spread out. Then they killed everyone in the city with their swords.38The Israelites had made a plan with those who had been hiding. They had told them to send up a large cloud of smoke from the city.39Then the Israelites would turn round and attack. The men of Benjamin had begun to wound and kill the men of Israel. They had struck down about 30 of them. They had said, ‘We’re winning the battle over them, just as we did the first time.’40But a large cloud of smoke began to go up from the city. The men of Benjamin turned round. They saw the whole city going up in smoke.41Then the Israelites turned round and attacked them. The men of Benjamin were terrified. They realised they were going to be destroyed.42So they ran away from the men of Israel. They ran towards the desert. But they couldn’t escape the battle. Other Israelites came out of the towns. There they struck down the men of Benjamin.43Here’s how it happened. The Israelites had surrounded them. They had chased them and easily caught up with them east of Gibeah.44So 18,000 men of Benjamin fell in battle. All of them were brave fighters.45Some men of Benjamin turned back. They ran towards the desert to the rock of Rimmon. As they did, the Israelites struck down 5,000 of them along the roads. They kept chasing the men of Benjamin all the way to Gidom. Along the way they struck down 2,000 more.46On that day 25,000 men of Benjamin fell in battle. They had been carrying swords. All of them were brave fighters.47But 600 of them turned back. They ran into the desert to the rock of Rimmon. They stayed there for four months.48The men of Israel went back to Benjamin. In all the towns they killed the people with their swords. They even killed the animals. So they killed everything they found. They set on fire all the towns they came to.